A muse comes knocking
by A Love Destructive
Summary: This is the story of a young writer who is inspired by an energetic young man. It's nice to find inspiration in unexpected places.
1. Chapter 1

Happy Valentine's Day!

There's a fan theory happening that Fairy Tail is actually a written fantasy series by Lucy about how she met Natsu (so I changed the names a little? I mean Lucy's canon name entirely implies that she's a romantic and that it's another world full of tons of races of people). And I thought "What if America or England? Hmn."

It's Valentine's day. I was listening to dubstep remixes of Cosmic Love and R.I.P. (I did not realize I liked Rita Ora until dubstep). Here you go.

**EDIT:** I had to fix this, I'm sorry. It was kind of all over the place.

* * *

The young woman elicited a squeak as she fell to the ground. Natsu spared her a glance before realizing he had knocked her down. "Ah, shit I'm sorry. I was just on my way to the bike shop to pick him up." He offered her a hand, a bright smile hovering on his features.

She glared a little, disgruntled of course, but not entirely angered and allowed herself to be pulled to her feet. "Him?" She brushed her blue pencil skirt off, searching for imaginary dirt. Her white blouse billowed in the spring winds. "Well, thank you, but I have a signing. I'll be late for the bus if I'm kept any longer, so if you'll just…" She shouldered a fallen messenger bag and started up the paved hill to the bus stop.

Natsu followed her excitedly. "A signing? Are you a celebrity?"

"A celebrity that you don't know about? No, only a small-time writer." She beamed. "I have a good fanbase, though…Wait don't you have to be somewhere?" Her delight slipped off her face.

His hot pink hair whipped around his face in the breeze, irritating him. He pulled a rubber band from his wrist to tame it. "Nah, Happy won't mind. I can pick him up later."

"…at the bike shop," she reiterated dryly as he sat beside her. It was cooler in this spot, on the bench beneath a maple tree.

"Yeah, he got some work done. The pressure valve was messed up on my last cross-country delivery and I decided to add some wings to his paint design. So, what do you write about?"

"Well right now, I have my long-running urban fantasy Rave series out. I published Monster Soul most recently. A two-part novel that explores racism and prejudice and the destructive impacts it has on society. Like, there's a real dichotomy that can be explored in contemporary fantasy and I just think…" Natsu had stopped, staring at her. He looked more than a little puzzled. "What?"

He grinned. "You're really smart."

"Well, yeah. I'm a writer. We're supposed to know what we're writing about. We're supposed to make art with words." She sat on the bench under the shade, waiting for the bus and patted the seat beside her. "Why?"

"I've never met a girl who looks…and talks…Ah, I don't know." He rubbed his hands on his patched jeans and sneaked a glance. He liked the look of her, curvy and cute, wide brown eyes, sun-kissed hair. She wasn't intimidatingly intelligent, or at least, she didn't flaunt it and was affable enough. "What are you doing later? My friend owns this ice cream parlor with his girl and I was going to visit later with Happy and Cana but it wasn't set. I'm kind of hungry now. Wanna go now?"

A thin eyebrow rose. "So you want to eat ice cream? Which is completely not filling? _And_ when I have to get to my signing?"

"No." Yes. "Okay, after. After the signing. The place my friend owns is called Juvia's." He was already standing and walking away, scuffing his boots on the ground. "At two p.m. See ya."

"Alright then." She smiled, vaguely amused. "What's your name?"

"Natsu. Hasegawa Natsu. You?"

"Lucy. Lucy Hartford."

* * *

The signing was exhausting, but rewarding, so getting a ride from a taxi was a small luxury she afforded herself. Lucy loved that the fans of her novels were so avidly curious. They would ask "What inspired you? Did the characters come from real people? Is Musica based on your ideal man? Did you know someone like Haru? How did you come up with Rave as a tool or a magical property?"

Yes, she had gotten her inspiration from real life. Yes, she was working on a new project. It was still an idea really. A mage-guild and the story of everyone in it. But how to put that together? How would she really make it explode, make it pop, make it a story that was truly individual? That was probably the most frustrating parts of being an author.

Still, she adored it even if her father thought she would never be able to make it big or earn what he earned. Never mind that working from your imagination and running an empire business mogul were completely different things. Lucy had never really been good at business anyway. Her father constantly fought with her whenever he called, sometimes only to criticize. It was exhausting and had been happening for years. When she had gotten out of high school, she needed time to do what she wanted and had chosen a college as far from her father as she could, gotten a job at a magazine while in school, and worked her way up from there. And once her mother died, relations grew brittle and cold.

Perhaps this was why they were estranged.

As the driver rounded the corner she spotted a silver and indigo themed ice cream parlor. Juvia's. She saw the lively Natsu who spoke to her this morning through the large window. He was already sitting at a chrome-lined table, talking animatedly on the phone.

Lucy stepped out of the car and thanked the man for driving her, adjusting her hair and her clothes surreptitiously the building next door before walking out. The deep bells on the door jarred and alerted the man tending to the counter to her presence. He grinned and gestured to Natsu's table. "He's been waiting a while. He got here early."

"Oh." She grinned, pleased. "Thanks."

He nodded and shooed her.

"Hey!" Natsu looked at her as she plopped down next to him. "How was the signing?"

"It went well. It's a small following but a dedicated one. I love them all. It's just really great people can appreciate your work or that it can spawn so much enthusiasm. Thanks for inviting me today, Natsu."

He shrugged, sipping at his root-beer float. "Well, I wanted to see you," he said, fiddling with the studs in his ear, "so I asked. I'm glad you're here."

"Me too." She flashed him a warm smile, holding his gaze for just a minute longer than was appropriate. There was something interesting about his eyes or the heat that seemed to emanate from him. He had an energetic vibe, an explosive feel to him that felt spontaneous and possessed an air about him that was sociable. Getting to know him felt right. "I like your shirt."

"What? Oh, the Sex Pistols?" His grin was wide and warm and she watched as his entire body shifted. "They're my favorite musicians. A lot of people like their newer stuff but their first few vinyls just really... I'm losing you. I'm sorry."

"No, it's interesting. Maybe I can listen sometime?" She was enjoying how close they sat, leaning closer imperceptibly.

"I'd like that."

They spent the rest of the day wandering the streets of the city, ducking into shops. Lucy had been right about his energy. Natsu was constantly moving, even when still. His foot would jiggle or a finger would tap and the way he watched her gave her a rush deep in her heart. She could not help but laugh at his silly jokes or smile when he took her hand or put an arm on her shoulder – he was incredibly casual, but she enjoyed it. Conversation was long and fun. She learned so much about him; he enjoyed math but had trouble with writing and words, and the first time he moved down was from Chicago.

Upon nightfall, he was kind enough to take her home and escorted her safely to the door, laying a quick kiss on her cheek before darting away.

She sat at her deck at twelve sharp that night, tapping her pen against the desk. Her monitor stared frustratingly back at her and she clenched her teeth angrily. What was she doing? Maybe she just had her run with the Rave books or the Monster Soul trilogy. Unbidden, Natsu's face swam to the surface of her brain and suddenly, she knew her characters. She wrote their ages, their pleasures, their pain, their background. The guild story would center around the adventures of a hapless young woman waiting to be molded into a powerful mage. She would make a lifelong friend in a dragon slayer. And it would be called Fairy Tail.


	2. He called her precious

Have some NaLu cuteness. This is in celebration of what happened recently in the chapter. I fell off of my chair, I mean..._he called her precious._

I also wanted something fun to write.

* * *

The day of their two-year anniversary had arrived. Natsu was worried that he would be unable to plan something good for Lucy, but lately she had been so absorbed in writing Fairy Tail that she forgot most things. Sometimes she would gaze out of the window when they were cuddling; her eyes would glaze over and she would begin to mutter about paradoxes and parallel universes and what if Lisanna had not died there? But she was so stuck on this one chapter. Or she bounced between naming the book and plot concepts. "Silent Song or Demon Land? Phantom Lords? Or maybe…no, wait," she would murmur to herself before rushing to her study. She had a year and a half to complete the book, but she was so caught up in the flow of the arcs that there was an absence of her in his life in some capacity. He was worried.

And so he resolved to make the two-year special, to put her at ease and help her relax. He called up Mirajane the day before to ask her to take Lucy out for a spa day, just to get her out of the house so she could have fun and so he could prepare the house for their anniversary. He wanted everything to be special. That morning, Natsu woke Lucy up with a kiss and orange juice and a caress.

"Mm? Natsu?" Lucy blinked blearily, glancing at the high-summer sun peeking through the drapes around their four-poster bed.

"Come on," he whispered, as he pulled the drapes back further. "Get up. I ran a bath for us."

She smiled, still sleepy, lifted her arms and he picked her up to carry her into the bathroom, the tub already filled. The aroma of the sweet pea blossoms he dumped into the bath filled the room, and Natsu grinned, the day was going as well as he had hoped. He wiggled his toes. The tile was cold in the morning chill and he forgot his slippers. He would be warm soon enough. Lucy kissed his cheek as he set her on her feet. She peeled off the old sweatshirt she slept in. He leaned forward, touching his forehead to hers. "I love you."

"I know," she quipped. She slipped out of his reach to edge toward the bath and gingerly eased her way in. "You're not getting in?" she asked when he made no move to undress.

"No." He kissed her cheek and positioned himself behind the tub. "I already took my shower. Just relax and," he grabbed a nearby green bottle of shampoo and squeezed some onto his hand, making a lather, "tilt your head back."

"What is that?" The goop in his hands was green and opaque and smelled vaguely of mint.

Natsu grinned widely. "It's teatree oil shampoo with cinnamon extract or jabbaba or something. I borrowed it from Gray and Juvia. Juv says it's good for you. Tilt your head back."

"Or _something_? If you mess up my hair -I _swear to god_."

His expression changed to a mighty scowl. "Tilt. Your head. Back."

She complied and he proceeded to massage the shampoo into her hair, his hands capable and careful. Every so often he would ask her if he was too rough or if she were feeling alright, and she smiled and told him he was fine. They chatted about his work as he began to rub her shoulders and whether or not they had enough money to buy her a mode of transport and perhaps, one day, a two cats. He pulled the showerhead down and smoothed the water over her as gently as he could, before his plans for relaxing her degenerated into splashing and wet tees and wrestling until he was halfway into the tub.

And then the phone rang. He answered tentatively. Ah. Mirajane. _"Natsu hand the phone to Lucy."_

Lucy reached for it, her expression becoming a slow mixture of exasperation and amusement as Mirajane's chatter sounded through the earpiece. "Mira says she's going to be here in five minutes and I'm going out with her." There was some disbelief in Lucy's voice.

"That's good, right?" Natsu said, already shaking out a towel for Lucy to wrap herself with. "You need to go out for some fresh ideas or maybe take a little break. You've been working really hard, Luce."

She leaned into him to kiss the nape of his neck. "Gotta go get dressed."

The next five minutes was a frantic scramble to brush teeth and pick the perfect casual-cute-sophisticated-comfy outfit. Waist-high dark blue shorts, purple transparent top, black bra. Natsu handed her some sunglasses of his to borrow, and gave her boots to borrow. It was not long before Mirajane knocked on the door. A swift kiss goodbye, "I love you, Natsu, be back tonight," a short hug and she was out the door in Mira's voyager.

Leaving Natsu to mop up the bathwater in the bathroom before Cana was supposed to arrive with dinner ingredients. Natsu would have made something for her himself, but he was quite incapable of cooking without burning the food. Gray and Juvia offered to help but she was swamped as it was with the sick animals at the Aquarium – and Gray needed to make more Custard Cream.

Cana arrived at precisely 12:00 pm. She brought with her an assortment of cake samples and spices and wines from her bar. Natsu had already begun to cut up little blue and pink and white and purple paper hearts, and took the Passion Flowers he hid in his armoire out to drink in the sun.

The two spent a great deal of time figuring out the perfect dinner while decorating the apartment, stringing up the little multi-colored hearts and paper-shaped people joined at the hand. Saffron rice, Cana decided, and they would season the steak and crab in the freezer, bake it in the oven with swiss and chopped mushrooms. The rice would take a few hours preparation, with boiling and washing and mixing with the chopped onion, seasoning with the saffron and turmeric, and ensuring Natsu did not go near the side dishes for fear of burning them.

He was relegated to salad mixing and table setting.

Cana was rubbing the steak with lemon juice and garlic. "So, how do you plan on making tonight the best night ever, again?"

"The passion flowers." Silverware clinked as he adjusted the utensils' positions with a critical eye.

"Natsu, those flowers are the ugliest fucking things I've ever seen." The Bronx came out in her voice, strong and clipped.

"What? No, she'll love them." He glanced at the stalks in the center of the table, and the vibrant flowers attached. These were very energetic flowers.

"They have tentacles. The flower doesn't have petals, those are tentacles." Cana slapped the swiss onto the meat and topped it with the egg yolk-crab mixture. "Look at your choices. She's going to agree with me." She smiled at the stubborn look gracing his features. "By the way. What are you wearing tonight?"

"This?" He gestured at his Modal Soul shirt and vest and his grey jeans.

"Okay, good." Natsu seemed puzzled so she explained, "Suits aren't a good look for you." She sprinkled breadcrumbs on the steak. "Maybe wear a ring? Or something silver?" She handed the steak to Natsu so he could place it in the oven while she washed her hands. "Have you picked out music? And red wine goes well with red meat. Use the red."

"Is music _necessary_?"

"If you want. It's modern-traditional, but every couple is different; I'm sure you figured that out."

He nodded, "I have. So, no music. No dressing up. Just me and her." Cana caught a smile on Natsu's face, hidden behind the mass of pink hair he sported. "It's gonna be nice." She looked down at herself and cursed; blood from the meat was beginning to stain her ACDC shirt. She wiped her fingers on her old jeans, sighing. All this for Natsu. The little shit.

"Are you leaving now?"

"Nope. You need to not burn the food and I'm staying to make sure you don't."

He put a hand on her shoulder. "Thank you."

"Careful, you'll knock me over," Cana laughed and patted his head. He scowled. "It'll be great, Natsu. Now let's pick out the cakes?" She pulled the samples out of the refrigerator.

"Is there a yellow cake?"

"Yeah, why?"

"Is it possible to make raspberry icing? That's her favorite. I'd like to make her favorite."

Cana sighed. She took a butter knife out of the drawer and carefully began to scrape the current icing off of the cake. "Get out a bowl and some vanilla extract. I'll make the icing."

The cake was soon drizzled in a thick layer of purple and lilac icing, with the passion flowers topping on the corners. Cana finished in due time, shaking her head at the now ugly dessert. "Are we all done? I have to go get ready for the bar to open."

"I think so." Natsu glanced at his surroundings, fairly pleased with how the special night would turn out.

"Good." She began to collect her things as well as the unused cake samples and wine, packing them back into the box she carried them in. "I really hope she enjoys this meal. I hope she enjoys everything." He helped her carry the box out to her car and she hugged him goodbye with a murmured "good luck" before driving off.

Natsu had an hour before Lucy came home, maybe two.

How would he fill the time until then?

He was unable to sit still. He paced. He lit candles, snuffed them out. He called his former foster parents from when he was a minor, the Alberonas. Told them how Cana was doing, told them business was going well, told them being a courier was enjoyable. Told them how well Lucy was. They said their goodbyes and wished all of two well.

Thirty minutes left.

He tried to re-watch the Fringe finale, but remembered how sad he had been when last watching it, and so turned off the television.

Fifteen minutes.

Cana left one of her card packs on the coffee table in front of the couch. She was able to tell fortunes with them. He sat down and fiddled with them, tried to remember what she taught him when they were kids, but the formula escaped him. So, solitaire.

Three minutes.

He was jumping out of his skin. Time to remove the steak and rice from warming in the oven. He set the table. Paced some more. Impatience was one of his least manageable traits, his friend Gray often told him. Time seemed to stretch forever.

Thirty seco-

"Natsu, are you home?" Lucy had opened the door, her shoulders relaxed and her posture at ease for the first time in two months. "What is all this?" She looked at the stringed hearts and people made of construction paper and the light-bulbs strung upside down. They clinked as her nails tapped against them. A smile curved her lips. "What's the occasion?"

"Well, it's our two-year- "

"_What?"_

"And you were so stressed lately I wanted it to be a surprise that you come home and you find well…" he gestured at the table. "I just wanted you to have a day to forget about things?"

"So, you did all of this?" Lucy was frowning, eyes wide and brimming with dismay. "Natsu, I can't believe I forgot. I'm so sorry. Oh, god." She was incredibly disappointed in herself, especially since she was the one who treasured this kind of celebration.

He shrugged. "It's not that big a deal. You've never forgotten it before. I only remembered because you marked it on the calendar last year – please don't be sad. I just thought, since you sometimes like nice things, I thought you'd like something like this." He pulled out a chair from the table. "I made your favorites. See? Just. Relax and eat."

She laughed her disbelief. The decorations were thoughtful and cute and it must have taken him all day. The spread was unbelievable. Broccoli with goat cheese and saffron rice…. Wait. Something was off. "Did you ask Mirajane to take me out so you could do all this?"

He grimaced. "I thought she'd keep her mouth shut about that."

Lucy cut into the meat and tasted. Pure and savory flavor as pungent as onions spread through her mouth. It was perfect. "Who helped you with the food?"

"What? I di-"

"You burn every edible thing you touch. You can't cook at all. I always cook. And this has a very Mediterranean taste to it." She ate some rice with the broccoli salad and nearly moaned her pleasure. The garlic was strong with this one. "Did Cana do this?"

"No. Yes. It was _my_ idea." Natsu growled his frustration as he stabbed his steak and crab with a fork. "You weren't _supposed_ to figure this out."

She was laughing harder than she had in a while. He was adorable. "I've been living with you for a year and a half. How did you think I wouldn't?"

"Just _pretend_ I did it and eat your food."

The meal was lovely and filling and perfect, if a little spicy. But, then he did have a tendency towards hot food. The next hour was passed by talk of Cana and Laxus and Gray. If Mirajane had fun with her and where did Lucy go? She loved the day. She loved this night. Light glanced off of the bulbs and shot little beams through the apartment. The thought behind everything was beautiful. But, when he brought out the dessert she shrieked. "What is that?"

Natsu grinned, his chest puffing with pride. "It's a passion flower. It's where your favorite fruit comes from."

She shook her head, bemused. "It's the ugliest thing I've ever seen. Are those tentacles?" She stood to better inspect it.

"Cana _said_ you'd say that." He broke off one of the stems and withdrew it from the cake, presenting it to her. "I wanted to give you these flowers because they reminded me of us. It's wild and happy and the meaning of it is belief. I believe in you. I think you can get through this. I know how rough it's been for you, you've been wandering the place like a ghost for a few months now. And that's what the passion flower is to me."

Her lips twitched in an effort not to smile. His way of thinking was odd, as usual. She dug her fork into the cake, tasting the vanilla sweetness. Light and fluffy. "Thank you."

He removed something from his pocket, something purple and small and vaguely circular. Something shiny. "And I've been thinking about where this was going." It was a silver band with alexandrite and sapphire embedded in the metal. It was lovely.

"Natsu," she whispered. Her breath caught and her head was pounding.

"I mean we've been living together for a while now and I really like you a lot, I mean I love you but I haven't stopped enjoying being around you either and I want this to continue…will you marry me?"

* * *

:)


	3. Smiles and Laughter and Tears

Thank you, NoxCaligo for literally snapping at me every time I hesitated to finish the chapter because of dissatisfaction.

* * *

"The world it seems so very small

Cause nothing even matters at all

Nothing even matters

_Nothing but you"_ – Lauryn Hill and D'Angelo

Lucy had always loved the willow trees in in the yard, especially this yard. As she walked past them, gliding slowly, she allowed herself to touch the bark and long fronds of her old friends, they who used to house her in their branches – hide her away when her mother and father fought. The wind sighed through them and sent a cascade of spring blossoms around her. She closed her eyes and breathed in the sweet-smelling air. In this moment, everything was beautiful.

"Lucy," Elfman rumbled softly, offering his arm. He looked exceptionally large in his tuxedo, but it suited him - and his sense of ideals.

Music rose through the air, urging her forward. It was a good tune, sweet and joyful, lively and smile-inducing. A wise choice, this song. The sound was the two of them, woven together in sound, harmonizing more perfectly than she could have imagined. She took another step forward, carefully so as not to tread on or ruin the dress, which had a sleeker fit than she thought, but was no less comfortable. It was a beautiful shade of ivory with a sweetheart neckline, with some ruching of tulle and sweeping outward in the like of a mermaid. She felt magical, as though she has stepped out of a fairy tale. Perhaps this was what the culmination of her knowing him could be described as. Magic. Wonderment. Fairy tales.

Nervousness suddenly ate at her, tunneling its way through her happiness. She clutched at Elfman's arm, thankful for the silent support he offered, as he always seemed to do and he glanced down at her, in his suit with his open face and smiled. "You'll be alright, Lucy," he whispered, "everything will be alright."

And Lucy could not help but smile back up at him. She and Elfman were nearing the people gathered, all of them sitting on white fold-out chairs – and collectively, alarmingly, turned as one to look at her and smile. Her family, old and now new, nodded at her. Her father deigned to show her an expression of warmth. It had been years since she had seen him so happy around her. Mirajane waved a little at her brother and Lucy, sunny and kind as grinning wryly in her charcoal pantsuit, standing out among the men with Gray and Laxus and Macao, Elfman soon to join them.

She walked. It was slightly difficult to see through the veil covering her face, but she would soon be able to remove it. The pink rose petals were soundless beneath her slippers as she made her way to the dais with Elfman in tow.

And she looked up.

And there he was. Reaching out to her.

Natsu.

His shock of long pink hair had been pulled back into a short ponytail, as she had begged him, but (in a fit of contrariness) he rolled his black slacks up to the knee. He took her hand, wove his fingers with hers and grinned. A tear slipped down Lucy's cheek. He was beautiful.

A child stumbled up to them, Romeo was his name if she recalled correctly. Two white gold rings were presented to them on a blue velvet pillow. The bands were cold on her hand, oddly for a warm spring morning like this one.

"Dearly Beloved…"

Her fingers trembled a little, and Natsu, sweetheart that he was, rubbed his thumb over her hand and squeezed gently.

"We are gathered here today to celebrate the joining of these young lovers…."

Lucy choked back a sob, pulled it deep into herself for afterwards. After the reception and after the meals and the dancing. For now she must be composed. Tears slipped down her cheeks regardless.

And before she knew it Natsu was speaking, a wide grin working its way onto his features. "I remember the first time I saw you. It was a really nice spring –"

"Summer," she interjected, the growing warmth of amusement in her chest.

"- Summer day and we bumped into each other. And I liked that you were kind of cold about it. I remember liking the way you talked about things. You were really passionate about your books and fans and…You have a lot of love, Lucy. That's why I want to stay with you. So I can take baths in your tub and steal your blankets and eat your food. I'm glad that I got to know you and I want to know you more every day. I love you."

She was supposed to say her vows but somehow was unable to recall… "I love you too, Natsu," she blurted.

And he was smiling and holding her tightly and the flow of the carefully planned ceremony was interrupted but she cared little for that, only that he was silly and odd - somewhat air-headed - and he was hers.

Lucy put aside her differences with her father for the reception. The music floated in the air with an unexpected levity that was infectious and soon even the sourest attendee could be found smiling. Gray and Juvia had decided to sit by the pond under a willow and play with the little frogs jumping in and out of the water. They seemed to have an excellent relationship, if a quiet and often mysterious one. Under the pavilion, Natsu was dancing with Cana; both were exuberant and had downed a few shots of whiskey. Lucy spotted Laxus sitting on one of the low branches of her favorite willow, watching them with a cool expression. She went to join him, mindful of the slightly wet grasses' impact on her dress.

"Hi."

"Beautiful wedding," he muttered, sparing her a glance. The scar on his face was pearlescent under the lights strung in the trees in the growing dark and the set of his mouth was forbidding.

"Thank you. Cana helped."

"Mm."

They sat together in comfortable silence for a while with the night setting in and the party continuing. Lucy spoke. "So I guess now you're my honorary brother."

"I don't think Cana and I will get married, Lucy. I'm not husband material." He was so calm. "And I don't want to get married." Military duty did tend to call him away a lot.

"I'm sure Cana knows that. She's not going to just leave you because of that. Marriage is a symbol. Or the end of a part in a story so the next two-thirds can seem like something starting anew. I think your story doesn't need parts. There's a good flow even without them. And I don't think she _needs_ marriage." Lucy toyed with a flower on a branch, examining the petals, and shrugged. "I've never had a brother or sister. I'd like for you and Cana to be both."

"Mm."

A ladybug made its way slowly across her finger. She petted it; ladybugs were her favorite. "Did you know she helped Natsu with our engagement?"

"She mentioned his tendency to be so bad at cooking he could burn oatmeal."

Lucy laughed, full-throated and warm before carefully attempting to disengage from the tree branches without harming her dress. Laxus sighed gustily before sliding down and lifting her up gently, so as to keep her from ripping the tulle.

"Thank you, Laxus." She looked over at the pavilion, at Natsu and Gray and Cana making up steps to an odd and complicated dance and another laugh escaped her. "He completely forgot I'm here."

An eyebrow rose on Laxus' face and he offered her a hand. "Dance?"

"Sure." And the two walked through the grasses towards their loved ones and friends.

After everyone had gone home the newlyweds sneaked upstairs to a secluded room on the east end of her father's mansion, tiredly avoiding the practice of consummating their marriage the first night. Lucy sat down on the bed, reaching and fumbling for her dress zipper to remove the fluffy thing but Natsu was there first, and helped her, fingers gliding tenderly down her back. She gingerly stepped out of the puddle of white satin and tulle and crawled onto the bed. Natsu sighed as his pants fell to the floor and turned, only to see Lucy curled up, sleeping in her underwear.

He smiled. "G'night, Luce," he said as he kissed her cheek and laid down beside her, pulling the coverlet over top of them and quickly joining her in slumber.

* * *

this was so enjoyable to write but i must have deleted the stuff like 5 times before it felt right.


End file.
